Few things are more critical to the health, wealth and welfare of the citizens of the 21st century than the quality of our information and communication systems. The quality of healthcare, the security of savings, the ability of our companies to compete and the overall health of our economy; every facet of our personal and business lives, from the mundane to the life-critical, is heavily dependent on computer-based systems and, in consequence, on the competence and professionalism of those who design and build those systems.

Over the past few years there has been a rapidly growing recognition, assisted by some gentle pressure from government, of the need to improve consistency in the way in which we develop new IT systems and manage complex IT-enabled change programmes. That recognition is driven not just by the need to reduce the risk and cost of failure but increas
ingly too by the need to maximise the dividends of successful IT-enabled innovation.

The key purpose of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT), is to enable businesses to make faster, better-informed decisions increasing their efficiency and effectiveness - and ultimately to better deliver customer value.